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Horror comedy is a tricky genre as it is. Wringing laughs from horror and murder and death and gore is not a popular thing among the people, and is hard to do, especially for an extended period of time. It helps to add another element to help stretch things out (like the romantic comedy element of Shaun of the Dead), and while the filmmakers threatened to make this added element it actually became more of a coming of age type of deal.

The main character is nerdy, socially awkward, World ofWarcraft addict Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg whogoes from Adventureland to Zombieland, and seems to bemaking a nice little career out of doing the movies MichaelCera didn't have time for. He has a voice over that runsthroughout the whole movie from front to back, and it's prettygood. It's used to convey a decent amount of information, andis also used as a vehicle to offer up a handful of rules inhumorous fashion (such as rule # 7 - Limber up). He meets upwith Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a wild man of a Zombiekiller on an endless hunt for Twinkies. Columbus andTallahassee band together for what they plan to be a shortamount of time. And of course, an unlikely friendship formsover the course of the movie. They run into a pair of sisters,Wichita (Emma Stone, Superbad) and Little Rock (AbigailBreslin, Little Miss Sunshine), and this is a little confusing,because if each person is named from the city they are from,why are the sisters from two different cities? In retrospect, theynever specified whether it was simply hometowns or birth cities, or perhaps they aren't really sisters, but that's a minor quibble.

Zombieland is pretty entertaining throughout. The voice over and various rules gives the whole thing a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy type of feel, and there are some sweet musical selections throughout the movie, like Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" during the opening credits. Mr. Harrelson is pretty great as Tallahassee, and Mr. Eisenberg is appropriately nerdy and awkward as Columbus. For the most part the movie is a really good time, and though it gets really violent and gory, a lot of that is muted by the fact that 95% of the blood in the movie is obviously digital and many of the hardest, most grueling hits of the movie are digitally faked. There is definitely something to be said for actual squibs and the use of on-set practical effects. Overall, Zombieland is sweet, and while the zombie movie well has been run pretty dry recently, it is nice to see that someone can still use the genre in a pretty smart way without being totally derivative.

So here are my rules for enjoying "Zombieland" - When you watch the movie you’ll understand what I'm talking about.

this flick. Some advice would be to prepare your snacking habits before you go into the flick so you can munch away when the credits roll.

Zombieland Rule #3 – CHECK OUT THE TITLES

Zombieland is narrated by Columbus in a way that viewers can appreciate. This isn’t your regular “So there I was…” narration and Jesse Eisenberg pulls off the tone perfectly. The story is narrated through a series of Zombieland Rules andwith them comes some amazing title work throughout the film. Zombieland uses animated titles within the frame of the shot. They work really well in terms of telling the story and showing a refreshing image on screen.

Zombieland Rule #4 – HOLD YOUR PEE TILL THE END

Okay maybe that was a bit gross, but with a run time of only 80 minutes, Zombieland is the perfect flick to see with a big group of friends. It’s long enough to develop a good story, but short enough that you won’t be squirming around in your seat waiting for the credits.

Zombieland Rule #5 – DON’T BE OFFENDED IF THINGS GO DISNEY

For all of the blood and gore and comedy strung throughout Zombieland, the heart of the story is really in the development of a family. With four homeless, family-less characters banding together after a few road blocks, this flick’s resolution is less about killing zombies and more about developing relationships. But this is not a a bad thing. Over and over again we see zombie flicks use the relationships of humans as a secondary storyline, but with Zombieland the development of a family environment is the central plot and also a breath of fresh air.

Zombieland Rule # 6 – SMALL CASTS RULE

Without a huge ensemble cast of characters to haveworry about, Zombieland brings you right into the storyfrom the very beginning and keeps you in the world of4 central characters throughout. Woody Harrelsonplays Tallahassee, Jesse Eisenberg plays Columbus,Emma Stone plays Wichita and Abigail Breslin playsLittle Rock. If you’re confused about the names, thenyou’re going to have to check out the flick. With onesmall but AWESOME cameo by a legendary comedian,this cast is more or less complete. Having a small castlike this was great for the viewer because it centralizesthe story around nothing more than what you shouldbe paying attention to. Woody did a great job as theroudy zombie hunter with an emotional past. EmmaStone plays the clever older sister and mother figureto the younger Abigail Breslin and Jesse Eisenbergagain does his best Micheal Cera impression andgoes awkward. When you string them all together, it works out wonderfully.

Zombieland Rule # 7 – APPRECIATE THE EFFECTS

Unlike a lot of huge big budget disaster flicks that blow their entire loads on explosions and gore scenes, Zombieland gets it all done on the cheap; and you can tell. Directed by Reuben Fleischer and written by the team of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick it is quite obvious that Zombieland was not made to win any awards for special effects. What it does do is bring a lot of the old school style back into the fold. Blood is drippy, slimy grossness to the point where it is more comedy than gore. Heads explode, bones break and zombies literally splat, but if anything the situations will make you laugh.

Zombieland Rule # 8 – DON’T EXPECT A HORROR FLICK

Zombieland is a hilarious half parody of a lot of zombie flicks from over the years. It’s not anything like you’re typical zombiestoryline where they explain the origin of the disease and a rag tag group of heroes saves the world. This flick is really abouthow people grow up and become something more in an independent society.

There was a series of commercials lately purporting to advertise "The greatest product placement movie of our time". They obviously were talking about "Zombieland". Product placement in movies is nothing new but usually it's fairly subtle. "Zombieland" is so blatant is just a hair shy of Laura Linney in "The Truman Show" telling poor Jim Carey about some kitchen implement she just picked up at the supermarket. "It slices, dices, and makes hundreds of julienne fries!" Among the in-your-face product advertisements are Mountain Dew Code red, Hostess (specifically Twinkies & Snoballs), FedEx, Purell, Hummer, Cadillac Escalade, World of Warcraft, and Lancome. I am sure there were a plethora of others that were a bit less obvious. Does anyone even remember what cell phone they were pushing in that "product placement" commercial? I don't. I don't know if those guys from Madison Avenue should be commended or fired. They created a great memorable ad campaign, only problem is you remember the commercial but not the product.

As you may have guessed I finally broke down and went to see "Zombieland" over the weekend. (mostly because I'm a fan of AbigailBreslin and Jesse Eisenberg). I have been avoiding this film like mad flesh eating cannibals but it has held on in the top ten movies for so many weeks I figured there must be something to it. I am pleased to say that I truly enjoyed it. It's sort of a cross between "28 days" and "Shaun of the Dead". I may now have to go see "Paranormal Activity" (I utterly refuse to see any of the "saw" series prior to DVD release and even then maybe not).

Zombieland Rule #1 – ENJOY ZOMBIELAND IN ANY STATE OF MIND

Very rarely does a flick come around that is equally as funny while in a bunch of different states of mind. Zombieland is one of these flicks where it can be enjoyed on multiple maturity levels for multiple reasons. Combining this with all of the other pointsmade above and I’m going to give Zombieland a solid 3 out of 5 stars.

Zombieland Rule #2 – STOCK UP ON HOSTESS PRODUCTS BEFORE

When you walk out of Zombieland you’re probably going to want to munch on some kind of Hostess snack product. I have a feeling some funding may have come from the creators of the Twinkie because product placement is used quite well in

Brrrrrrrraaaaaains-eating in "Zombieland" - it's an oft-hilarious B-movie whose only ambition is to entertain us with jokes, violence and gore. It's fun, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson have good chemistry as classic mismatched buddies and it haseasily the year's best surprise cameo.

I've stated in previous reviews that lately I may have been guilty of 'grade inflation' in my star ratings. This weekend I think I've gone in the opposite direction, all of the movies I've reviewed this week are worthy of a half star higher rating - with the exception of "New York, I Love You" which I found exceptionally disappointing and probably deserves a half star lower.